Trellising Cucumbers

Yes, I am getting nice burpless andpicking cucumbers out of my hoophouse! I have been finding enjoymentfrom getting summer crops a little earlier than usual this, my firstspring using the hoophouse. The cucumbers do very well in thehoophouse environment. They grow fast and spread voraciously, and thecucumbers they produce are very crispy, tender and sweet. I have beenhappy with several varieties I have grown in there, Tanga andSouthern Delight have been good slicing cucumbers, and I am alwayshappy with the National Pickling and Homemade Pickles for thepickling varieties. Though they may have their place in compactgardens, or other applications, I have not been pleased with the bushpickle variety in the hoophouse. The compact nature of the bushpickle keeps too much moisture and little air circulation leading tomore mildew and aphid issues, which is already a problem in thehoophouse.

Lets take a moment to discuss cucumbersin general. Cucumbers are very hardy plants and can be started easilyby seed in the ground where they will grow. It is good to make asmall hill (about a one foot area of mounded dirt) because they likegood drainage. Place 2-3 seeds in the center of the hill. Cucumberscan be planted anytime when the ground is warm and throughout thesummer. They can also be started easily in peat pots and thentransplanted into the garden. To pick the right variety of cucumber,consider how they will be used. Picklers primary job is to bepickled. If picked very small, they are good to make gherkins orsweet pickles with, larger sizes are good for dill or sour pickles,or sliced for lime pickles or bread and butter pickles. Picklers areusually bitter to eat raw, and can be upsetting to the stomach. Theyare still very edible, though, and do very well if peeled and slicedand then combined with sliced onion and a little water, vinegar andsalt to taste. These are tasty kept in the refrigerator and eatenvery cold. Burpless, or any slicing type of cucumber, aren't suitedwell to pickling, and can get soft and become dull in flavor afterbeing processed for pickling. But, they are very tasty eaten justabout anyway raw and fresh.

In the hoophouse there is only so muchhorizontal space, so it is important to go up when possible.Cucumbers trellis well, since they vine and have the little curly-q'sthat can crawl, twist and grab their way up anything. Welded Cattlepanels work well for this, either looped up and over or standing upand secured to t-post. Any kind of paneling that can be secured at anangle (so long as the cucumbers can still easily be harvested), makeit very easy for the plant to climb. Completely vertical trellisesmay be difficult for some vines to start to climb and they will needto be secured with twine or clamps. In the hoophouse is the option ofrunning cord from the pipes that frame the upper hoops of the house. I simply tied cord to these pipes, then tied them to t-post that werelaying on the ground alongside the plants. This spring I have two ofthese methods, the vertical cattle panels and the cord tied tooverhead pipes. Both methods seem to be working well. As the vinescontinue to grow they need to be checked to make sure they are alwaysmoving upward, and as new vines form and grow, they have to betrained to go up the trellis as well.

I am not a master trellis-er. It's mytendency to just let things grow and wander where-ever. But,trellising, especially for cucumbers, makes a lot of sense. Theirfruit isn't too heavy that it bears a constant burden on the vine,unlike a large cantaloup or watermelon would be. Maintenance andharvesting are also so much easier with the vines up. Anotherbenefit, especially in the hoophouse, is that pest are morevulnerable. It is so much easier to keep an eye on possible aphidinfestations and then spray the underside of the leaves with soapywater when necessary if the plants are off the ground. It is alsoeasier to use some barrier methods, such as “sticky feet” to keepants from climbing up the vines (which can become a problem if theystart tending to the before-said aphids).

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Good luck with your vines and growinggarden! I am trying to encourage vertical growth throughout myhoophouse; with tomatoes, I am using “stake and weave” where at-post is placed in between about five or six plants down a straightrow of tomatoes. Then, as the tomatoes grow, twine is wrapped aroundthe post, then carried down one side and then the other to keep theplants boxed into the area. This is working really well for me, butas time goes on and the tomatoes are getting out of control I findthat it is impossible to manage the vines anymore at all. But, it hashelped considerable, and keeps them off the floor of the hoophousefor the most part. For peppers I am using rebar stakes (actuallyelectric fence wire posts). Hammer the post next to the pepper plant,then tie the plant to the post continually as it grows vertically. AsI continue to experiment more with upward growth, I must pursue aneducation in better pruning.

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